Mies: First “Real Benefits” of Mustang GT3 EVO to Show

Photo: Wes Duenkel/Ford

Chris Mies believes the first “real benefits” of the Ford Mustang GT3 EVO will begin to be seen in this weekend’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Mies, season-long co-driver Fred Vervisch and third pilot Seb Priaulx gave the updated Multimatic-built car a seventh place GTD Pro class finish in January’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Ford Racing’s No. 64 entry of Dennis Olsen, Ben Barker and Mike Rockenfeller, meanwhile, failed to finish after sustaining an engine failure.

While looking to move on from its disappointing Daytona result, the Mustang GT3 EVO, which features updated aero, brake, suspension and powertrain components, should provide a step forward at more traditional circuits according to the German driver.

“I think the areas where we needed to improve, we improved,” Mies told Sportscar365.

“Obviously Daytona is a very unique racing track. I think the first real benefits we will see from Sebring onwards, so we’re looking forward to that.

“I expect the car will be better in every area, everywhere.”

Olsen admitted it’s still early days in extracting the maximum out of the updated car.

“I think it’s just learning about the total package we have now,” said Olsen. “It’s something new.

“We have to learn a bit more about our evolution of the Mustang GT3. We’re excited for Sebring.

“We definitely were a little bit on the heavy side. We’re hoping this will change a bit and give us a better chance.

“The car was handling well throughout the whole race. Unfortunately we had an issue on the No. 64 car, but other than that, everything worked super smooth.”

While designed to be a more versatile package at nearly all types of circuits, Mies said he’s particularly looking forward to seeing what gains can be made at several circuits where the Mustang GT3 struggled at last y ear.

“Laguna was our worst weekend of the whole calendar,” he said. “It will be better, that’s for sure. Will it be enough to close the gap to the front guys? I don’t know.

“We’ll probably see during the first practice session when we are there [in Laguna Seca]. It was quite a big gap.

“I expect that it’s going to be smaller. I don’t know if it’s going to be enough to be really up front, but on other places we were really good already with the pre-EVO car, like Indy and Detroit.

“Obviously every car has some strength and weaknesses and obviously Laguna was our biggest weaknesses.”

While 2025 Rolex 24 class winners Mies and Vervisch are embarking on their second season together in the No. 65 entry, the No. 64 Mustang features an all-new full-time lineup of Barker and Olsen.

Both drivers, who come from Ford’s LMGT3 program with Proton Competition, have multiple WeatherTech Championship starts but neither have embarked on a full season campaign.

“It’s going to be great fun,” said Olsen. “I’ve always wanted to do it, the whole season, and to finally get to it now is great.

“It’s a bit unfortunate we had to start off the season like that but we’re just going to fight like hell and do everything we can to try and get a championship.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John